Hey, guys! So so sorry about the wait! I promise that I did not mean to wait this long. I just got so caught up in getting ready for university and then making the adjustment once I got there! I am excited to say that this chapter is extra long, however, and hopefully gives you a couple more kakasaku glimpses. Thank you guys for your reviews!
She blinked once, twice, then held her eyes shut once more. Finding the energy to finally pry them open for good, she saw that she was in a hospital bed. She watched as each individual dust mote caught in the light, flickering in and out of existence as quickly as her eyes found them. Her brain felt fuzzy and dazed. A glowing hand found its way to her head and she realized that she was not, in fact, alone. Turning, she focused on the man healing her. Short auburn hair drooped downwards slightly as he focused on his work.
"Hikaru-kun?" Sakura murmured softly, wondering why he would be on rounds.
"Ah, Sakura-chan," he greeted her warmly, eyes brightening as he spoke.
Squirming until she was sitting up, she saw that she was, for the most part, healed. She knew that any medic would have healed cuts that would leave a scar or damage her function physically and any other serious injuries first. Any bruises would be left alone for the most part.
He seemed to stare awkwardly for a moment before continuing to apply healing chakra.
Sakura grinned widely as she remembered why she was there.
"I know I really shouldn't be saying this—but I just made ANBU! I'm so excited!" Sobering up, she blushed sheepishly. "What are you doing here, anyways?" He returned her enthusiasm and chuckled as he began to wrap her arm with bandages.
"Congratulations, Sakura-chan! I just got here, actually. Shizune-san had pretty much finished when Hokage-sama called her away. So she called for someone else to finish up here. I was just finishing my shift in the lab, so I volunteered. I heard you were pretty roughed up," he smiled.
Scratching the back of her head self-consciously, Sakura smiled. "Yeah, I'll admit that I feel pretty rough, too."
He finished with her arm, lightly running his fingers over his work. Examining the bandages on her other arm, he set it down gently. Sakura liked being the one pampered, she found. Oftentimes she was the one healing herself so she rarely got to see herself in this situation.
Hikaru gave her a satisfied smile. "Well, that's it. I guess you can probably heal the rest yourself," he began to rise as he spoke, brushing off imaginary dust from his pants.
Disappointed that he was going to leave, Sakura quickly spoke up. "No! You don't have to go, Hikaru-kun! Well, you know, I was enjoying talking to you…" She blushed, looking away. "Well, I, uh, I'm sorry! You can go if you like..."
He looked surprised as he lowered himself back down into the chair. "I'd like to stay, actually." He smiled back at her, more confidence in himself than he'd had previously. "How did the examination go?"
He admired the way her eyes lit up. She was so animated when she spoke, so lively and youthful. Although she was very mature, she still held a treasure trove of innocence and purity. Like a magnet, she drew others with such a powerful force of attraction. He couldn't resist getting caught up in the pull.
"Well, the written exam was very easy, actually," she said with a smug smile, laughing as she continued. "I have no idea how Naruto managed to get the top mark, though."
"No way, Naruto-san?!" He cut in loudly, the shock evident. Although Naruto was admired by all in the village, he was also their resident fool. "I can't imagine that being possible…"
Laughter still ringing like sweet bells from her throat, she continued. "I felt the same way! I thought that the physical aspect was a little too easy until we were captured." She rolled her eyes. "But now I can see that nobody was supposed to make it out without being captured. We all had to undergo interrogation resilience testing." Her laughter died as her thoughts flashed back to the terrible time she spent in the chamber. She had never felt such pain before. Shivering, she turned to look at Hikaru. She wanted to avoid thinking about it at all cost.
He was looking at her with admiration. "I don't think that I could do it, to be completely honest." He looked a little put out as he spoke. "I'm not like you, Sakura-chan. You're so strong."
Sakura felt indignant. It was flattering, but he had to know that not everyone had the same strengths. He was smart and capable as a medical ninja, and he did his best work in a lab.
"That's so not true, Hikaru-kun! You're valuable just the way you are! Not all of us are made to do the same things. Your strength is not defined by mine," she grinned. "And my strength is not defined by anyone else's. If I based my strength on Naruto's, I wouldn't be very strong at all, would I?"
He smiled sheepishly, scratching his head. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Sakura-chan."
They shared a small smile, meek and gentle. Their natures were very similar. They cared a lot about other people. You had to if you wanted to be involved in the medical community. Sakura's personality was more dominant, more confident. She had been willing to stay in the background and play a character in someone else's story for so long but now she was ready to be the main character in her own tale. It seemed that Hikaru was content to feature in other people's stories. He was different in that regard. He clearly had passion for his job, but didn't have the drive that propelled Sakura into greatness. Nor her incredible talent not only in a lab but also in the field.
Sakura found that she enjoyed his company greatly. He was calming and relaxing. She rarely found that in people. Her own group of friends were all domineering personalities. Save for Shikamaru and Shino, of course. She enjoyed the change.
She was about to question his work in the lab when Kakashi's head peeked in through the door.
"Yo," he waved, his one visible eye looking over the unknown man in the room.
"Ah, Kakashi!" Sakura shot him a sly grin. "How's your head feeling?"
"It feels horrible, Sakura. Thank you," he spoke, exasperation evident.
"Oh, this is Yoshida Hikaru. Hikaru-kun, this is Hatake Kakashi." She introduced the two, a slight blush adorning her newly healed cheeks.
Each of them looked at each other, eyeing the new acquaintance up. Kakashi was the first to speak. "Ah, nice to meet you, Hikaru-san."
Hikaru was quick to jump to his feet, hurriedly bowing. "It's an honour to meet you, Hatake-san!" Sakura could sense the amusement in Kakashi's gaze as he sheepishly scratched his head.
"Kakashi-san is fine, I'm not that self-righteous," he waved him off, his eye crinkling in a friendly smile. Although Kakashi was being polite, Sakura knew that the spotlight was something he would rather be out of.
Nodding, Hikaru quickly excused himself. He gave Sakura a friendly goodbye and practically tripped over himself trying to be respectful to the copy nin.
Laughing once he was out of earshot, Sakura turned to her former teacher. "You really are intimidating. We were afraid of you for the first few days, too."
Looking perplexed, he shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Sakura. I have always been friendly to everyone. Why would anyone be scared of an old man like me?"
At this, she laughed harder. "Oh Kami, be quiet. You are the biggest liar I have ever met."
Catching his smile underneath the mask, she grinned with him.
"How are you feeling?" He asked tentatively, knowing all too well that she was probably feeling like shit.
"Well," she winced, "my muscles are sore and I'm bruised all over, but for the most part, I'm good."
"Sakura…"
"I don't think I'll ever want to go into those chambers again in my life, too, but I'll be fine." She smiled softly, looking down. "I keep seeing his smug face when I close my eyes. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight after that."
Kakashi stared at her, somber. "Yes, well, it'll get better, easier. And you never will see his face again, you know. It was a genjutsu."
"I'll likely experience it for real at some point anyways."
He couldn't dispute her on that. ANBU was hard, it was dangerous, and it didn't have the best outcomes. "That was real too, you know. I hope you realize the strength in it."
"Anyways," she shook off both him and the dark mood quickly, ready to move on. "What did you want?"
Blinking, he seemed to remember his reason for coming there. "Oh, yeah. I was just going to come get Team Seven. All of you passed―congratulations by the way―and you need to meet at ANBU headquarters. I'll escort you guys there."
Brightening, Sakura jumped out of bed, excitement shining in her sea green eyes. Kakashi gave her appearance a once-over and coughed, giving her a pointed look. She glanced down, a blush staining her cheeks as she realized the state of her clothing. It was dirty, ripped, and stained with her blood. Her chest bindings looked nearly black and were visible through the holes in her shirt.
"Ah, I don't have any spare clothes…" she mumbled, embarrassed.
Chuckling, Kakashi held out a bag towards her. "Shizune passed these to me, actually. I'll just wait outside." She grasped the bag to her chest gratefully.
"Thank you, Kakashi…"
"No problem, Sakura."
As the door clicked shut, Sakura rummaged through the clothes. Shizune had stopped by her house, evidently, but had grabbed the first things she'd seen. Which happened to be an unused push-up bra and matching set of panties, a low cut white t-shirt, and a mini skirt. Sighing, she made her way into the bathroom to freshen up. Using the sink to wash her face and get most of the blood out of her hair, she finally pulled it into a high ponytail and got changed. She threw her new clothes on, checking her appearance out in the mirror.
Except for the excessive amount of cleavage and the bandages, she looked fine. She made her way out of the room, smiling at her sensei as he leaned against the wall with one of Jiraiya's older books in his hand. "You look better," he remarked and she responded by sticking her tongue out at him. Seeing her eyes glance at the book in his hand, he raised his single visible eyebrow, amusement clear.
He laughed, falling into step beside her as they made their way to the lobby. She twitched in annoyance, her face colouring as they walked. Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke were waiting for them there, leaning against the wall. As soon as Naruto saw her, he swept her into a hug, swinging her around in a circle before letting her land. His grin could have cracked his face if it had been any bigger. "We did it, Sakura-chan!" She returned his enthusiasm with her own big grin, a softer hug repaying him for his affection. She looked to find that Sasuke had his own characteristic smirk marring his face. The happiness in his eyes betrayed him as he tried to dart out of the way of a hug from Sakura.
"Sasuke, you big brute!" She laughed, finally managing to sweep all of them into a big hug. "We're finally the top of the top!"
"Sakura-chan, I have learned that I am morally obligated to point out that I was able to see quite clearly your underwear when Naruto spun you around in celebration," Sai piped up, squashing her good mood.
A smack to the head by a fuming Sakura ended that train of thought, leaving Sai to murmur his wonder at her anger.
Politely looking away, Kakashi attempted to stifle his laughter, cutting it off as he noticed Sakura's fiery glare.
"Anyways, I guess I should congratulate you four. It's a big deal to become ANBU, especially so young. Although, I was only—"
"Kakashi," Sakura growled, spurring him on.
"Ah, yes, right. Well, I guess I'm here to escort you to ANBU headquarters. You will be able to use a teleportation jutsu once you are tattooed and have the seal placed in it. Then you may teleport to headquarters from anywhere within the village's limits. You may or may not be able to from outside the village, but I wouldn't recommend trying. Ninja tend to leave parts behind when they try from too far away." He sobered up, making sure that they were aware of their limits. He was sure that none of them were stupid enough to try it, but he wanted it to be clear. They could lose a finger, a toe, an arm, or even separate their bodies into halves trying from an unsafe distance.
Sakura took this time to eye up each of her boys. Looking a bit worse for wear, they had matching bandages and bruises, their arms covered in white wrappings just as hers were. As Kakashi took a step towards the door, he looked a little woozy, his body leaning to one side dramatically before he corrected herself. She had noticed the bandages wrapping around his head but hadn't thought too much about it. Remembering her blow to his head, she knew she had concussed him and he was probably feeling the effects.
Following the man out of the hospital, Sakura hopped a few quick steps to catch up with him.
"Sorry about your head, you know," she murmured, her gaze downturn.
He turned to look at her, the telltale eye crinkle revealing his mirth. "It's no problem, Sakura," he replied. "Although, my head really does hurt."
Smiling, she stretched upwards to lay a hand on the side of his head. Letting her hand glow, she began to heal the bruises on his brain, alleviating the effects of the injury. A tiny stream of blood exited, held in place in a bubble of green chakra. When a small ball had formed, she pulled her hand away, satisfied.
"Good as new," she said, letting the ball of blood fall on the ground.
Kakashi could hardly understand her. Her talent as a medical ninja was so easily brushed aside, and yet here she was able to heal a brain injury while walking along on a casual sunny day. And at the opposite side of the spectrum, here she was able to inflict the brain injury just as easily. Not only could she concuss someone, but she could control herself to the point where she could incapacitate a man with one punch to the skull, leaving no cracks or serious damage. She exhibited so much control that it was hard to ignore. She really was someone not to be trifled with. It was downright frightening to say the least.
Chuckling nervously, he thanked her. Reaching the Hokage Tower, he led them inside.
He showed them down the stairs to the basement level of the tower, used mostly for storage. Leading them to a circle on the floor, a few kanji symbols written in the centre, and signalled that they stand still. Pulling his ANBU mask over his face, he made two hand signs and they slipped through the floor like water, landing in a large circular room below. The walls were plain, torches spaced out evenly enough to create a fairly well-lit room. Four corridors led out of the room, branching at even intervals from each other into a gradual slope downwards, leading further and further into the ground. Looking at the other faces scattered throughout the crowd, she saw some of her friends. Tenten, Ino, Neji, and Hinata were among the crowd, standing out considerably as they lacked the necessary ANBU garb. There were four other ninja that were older than them and Sakura only recognized them from the examination.
Sharing grins between each other, they turned to face forward just like the other ANBU operatives were doing. Shikamaru had made it into ANBU when he was seventeen and neither Choji nor Kiba had discrete enough techniques to have attempted the exam in the first place.
Morino Ibiki emerged from the corridor directly in front of them, eyeing up the crowd. Tsunade followed shortly after, her face stern and holding all the dignity of her position.
"We are not here to congratulate you, recruits. By the end of your first assignment, you may even be begging to be put back on the jounin roster." Tsunade kept her gaze level, her voice devoid of kindness. "Nevertheless, it is a special privilege to be chosen as one of the village's elite. Serve me well and I will serve you well in return."
Nodding, Ibiki picked up where she left off. "First, you will make your oaths to the Hokage," he said, the scars of his face jumping out in the flickering of the torches. "Then the tattoos will be placed on your skin, marking you as one of us. And finally, the Hokage will bestow upon you a mask to hide your identity to all but your closest allies."
Nodding, Tsunade looked them straight on. "Repeat after me," she said, taking a deep breath. All who were in the room crossed a closed fist over their hearts, staring ahead in anticipation. "I swear by the Will of Fire, on the honour of those that I serve."
"I swear by the Will of Fire, on the honour of those that I serve." They chorused her words out in unison, a deep sense of duty overcoming them.
"I swear that I will put my nation, village, comrades, and Hokage before myself."
Tsunade had said the speech many times, but she could not help the goosebumps she experienced every time she had to perform the ceremony.
"I swear that I will put my nation, village, comrades, and Hokage before myself."
"I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Hokage, and her successors."
"I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Hokage, and her successors."
"I will, as in duty bound, honestly and faithfully defend the Hokage, the village, and her successors with my life and liberty against all enemies."
"I will, as in duty bound, honestly and faithfully defend the Hokage, the village, and her successors with my life and liberty against all enemies."
"I will observe and obey all orders of the Hokage, her successors, and of the shinobi and presiding ninja set over me."
"I will observe and obey all orders of the Hokage, her successors, and of the shinobi and presiding ninja set over me."
At last, everyone came together to say the last line with her, having known it since infancy.
"The fire on the leaves will eventually burn greater and stronger. It will flash its light and protect this village."
Nodding once, Tsunade dismissed them from their position, watching as they pulled their arms from their chests, opting to hold them taught against their sides. Seeing her student in the crowd, she was overwhelmed with pride. She knew how tough it would be on Sakura, but she knew that she would make it and serve her village in immeasurable ways.
"Now that we have finished the oath, we can get onto business." Ibiki pulled out a small stack of white pieces of paper. Each one had the characteristic swirl of the ANBU tattoo.
He gestured for each of the recruits to line up. Naruto pushed his way to the front of the line, a grin on his face. Pulling the bandages wrapped around his left arm down, he bared his shoulder to Ibiki. He stood still, awaiting its placement. Ibiki placed a slip of paper on his shoulder, orienting it for a moment, before gathering chakra and placing his palm upon the paper. A red light surged out from under his hand and Naruto visibly flinched. It took a moment before Ibiki finally pulled away, inspecting his work.
Slowly, each of the twelve recruits were branded. Sakura was last, and having had time to steel herself, was proud that she had not flinched when the bite of the tattoo hit her. It was an odd feeling, one of pulling and pushing as it was burned into her skin. It sucked chakra out of her and pushed chakra into her, something Sakura figured had to do with the teleportation jutsu. After he released her, she felt hr arm tentatively, wondering if it would feel as tender as she thought it would. She sucked in a sharp breath, a hiss of air releasing from between her teeth as she tried to wish away the pain. She was definitely healing it after they left.
Sakura steeled herself for what came next. She was hoping that she didn't get a stupid mask and codename like rat. Although there already was a rat operative, so she knew that name was taken at least. Going through a list of ANBU agents that she remembered, she compiled a list of names that were taken. Itachi was Weasel, of course, Kakashi had a wolf mask, Genma was Monkey, and Yamato was Cat. She knew several others including Ox, Hawk, Snake, Oni, Rat, and Rabbit. That left plenty for the rest of them, yet she was still worried that she would get a less than desirable codename.
Ibiki began to call for them in alphabetical order.
"Abe, Ryuu."
One of the unknown recruits stepped forward, kneeling before the intimidating man. Ibiki pulled out a scroll, unravelling it gently and letting it trail on the ground. Finding the seal that he was looking for, he placed a palm on it and reached into the scroll, grasping the mask and pulling it out. The mask resembled a horned sheep of some sort. Ibiki slid the mask on the man's face then beckoned for him to stand up. "I present Ram, ANBU agent."
Stepping back into the crowd, he took his place with the experienced ANBU members.
"Goda, Hana." A slim but tall girl made her way to the front, long almost white hair trailing down her back. She kneeled down dutifully, looking up at the man expectantly. Ibiki repeated the process, pulling out a leopard mask.
"Haruno, Sakura." Swallowing nervously, she made her way up to the front. Kneeling, she squeezed her eyes shut, sending up a quick prayer for something cool.
"I present ANBU operative Tiger."
Sakura grinned beneath the mask. Although it felt foreign and strange, she was glad that she had received a good name.
Hinata was next. She became Mouse.
Neji was proclaimed Crow, Sai became Owl, Tenten was dubbed Bear, and Sasuke received Dragon. Sakura knew he would be smug about the name.
Naruto was given a lion mask, and Ino was given a fox mask. The other two recruits, now known as Matsubara Kazuo and Nakada Tarou, each were given wolverine and badger masks, respectively.
Ibiki cleared his throat, once more gaining their attention. "Please pick up your ANBU standardized uniform before you leave. You will receive your team placements as soon as possible. Likely by tomorrow. When you are summoned, you will dress as an operative and do the following signs," at this, he paused to demonstrate. "When you channel chakra into the tattoo, you will be pulled, or teleported to this room. You are dismissed."
"Ne, Kakashi-sensei, how do we get out of here?" Naruto asked, scratching the back of his head. Sakura smiled, touching her hand softly to the porcelain mask. It felt surreal to be there with her best friends, to be one of the best that Konoha had to offer.
Kakashi sighed, signalling with his hand that they should follow him. They followed him obediently down one of the halls, allowing him to lead them through numerous twists and turns. Finally, they arrived at a staircase. They followed him up the steps until they reached the top. An doorway into another staircase stood before them.
"This is one of the staircases in the hospital!" Sakura exclaimed, surprised. Kakashi nodded.
"Henge yourselves into an ANBU uniform, please. There is a genjutsu on the other side. A very elaborate genjutsu. Most are unaware that this isn't just another wall on one of the landings. Those that figured it out are already in ANBU or are jounin themselves." He nodded and led them through the door and up the stairs to the main level.
Sakura groaned. "Why didn't we just go this way in the first place?"
Waving over his shoulder as he started walking away, Kakashi shrugged. "The other way is cooler."
"Oh no you don't!" Naruto crowed, grabbing Kakashi by the arm. Sasuke was quick to grab the other limb.
"You really didn't think that we'd let you get away without celebrating with us, did you?" Sasuke smirked, his constant stream of smugness audible as he taunted the older man.
"Ooh, let's go to the Tipsy Leaf," Sakura grinned, shooing the boys forward. "I'll make sure the others know to go there."
"I'm far too old for this," Kakashi protested, pretending to suddenly have back pain.
Naruto laughed, punching him in the side. "Kakashi-sensei, you're only in your thirties!"
Looking glum, he responded. "Don't remind me."
Sakura laughed, skipping ahead. "I'll meet you guys there! I have to go get changed," she said, looking down at her outfit distastefully.
Sai, having been mostly silent, decided to join in the conversation. "I have been researching the act of celebration and I do not understand why we choose to put harmful substances into our bodies and sleep with morally ambiguous strangers to celebrate a promotion."
Leaving the others to explain, Sakura headed home, pooling green chakra into her hand to heal the leftover cuts and alleviate the pain from the ANBU mark. She felt kind of bad about the process of removing the blood pooling in the bruises and leaving it on the street so she waited until she got to her apartment to finish up. There weren't many medical ninja that were able to completely heal a bruise. Although seemingly one of the simplest injuries, it was more complicated than that. Blood had to literally be removed from the body to completely heal a bruise and many were not able to control their chakra to the level that was required. It was just another thing that set Sakura far above the rest.
She peeled off the rest of the bandages and clothing she had on, running the water in her bathtub until it was full. Before she got in, she finished healing the rest of what she hadn't seen before and slowly sank into the water. Scrubbing at her hair, she watched with satisfaction as the water got slightly pink. Taking a moment to enjoy the warmth, she sank down until just her nose was above the water line. Sakura was exhausted from the day's events, but she was glad that she had done it. Now she had another reason to be proud of herself, another argument against her uselessness.
She was glad to scrub the evidence away as well. As much as she wanted to ignore it, the six hours she spent in that interrogation chamber had been a living nightmare. Her fists clenched at the thought of it. She would have nightmares for weeks and she knew it. Just thinking of the man's face, smug yet devoid of almost any emotion. It was a good henge, and it had gotten to her. Even now, his face was slipping from her mind, it's plainness allowing him to remain somewhat anonymous.
Closing her eyes, Sakura jolted. Her mind may have tricked her into thinking that she was forgetting his face, but there it was, just behind her eyelids, burned into her like the tattoo she'd received. She jumped to her feet and removed the plug, watching as the murky water drained. Wrapping herself in a towel, she continued to watch.
Her shoulders began to shake uncontrollably. Her vision blurred as tears dripped down her face. Collapsing to the floor, she sniffled and attempted to wipe the tears away. Hiccupping, she bawled. She couldn't fight back the sobs she was releasing, try as she might. Her face hurt with the effort of holding herself back. Curling into a ball, she laid her wet face on the cool tile and continued to sob, tears pooling on the floor. She never wanted to think about what had happened there ever again and yet it wouldn't leave her mind. She could still feel the hot poker that he'd driven into her side. She still felt every kick and every punch. Her cuts and burns may have been erased from her body but they were as fresh as ever in her mind.
Kakashi hated being forced into attending things. He forced himself to go to his teammates' birthdays. And they rewarded him by forcing him to go to everyone else's celebrations. But, then again, Naruto had offered to pay for his alcohol in order to placate him so he had free drinks at the very least. The Tipsy Leaf wasn't his sort of establishment. For the most part, it was too loud. And on weekends it was more of a club than a bar. Being that it was not, in fact, the weekend, the music was relatively normal. It was too loud for his tastes nonetheless.
That was really how he knew that he was getting too old. He was complaining about how loud music was.
Sipping on his shochu, an unknown brand that he'd never even heard of before, he looked around. Sakura hadn't shown up yet so it was just him and the boys.
"Have you fucked her yet, Dobe?" Sasuke smirked, leaning in as Naruto went red.
Kakashi was confused. Was Naruto sexually active?
"That is none of your business, Teme!" Naruto squeaked, face turning just as red as Hinata's did.
Sai looked perplexed for a moment before responding. "Your courtship of Hinata-san appears to be going well. Although I see no evidence that you engaged in coitus, a sign of a stable relationship."
Sasuke laughed, turning to Naruto again. "What good is a girlfriend if you don't even have sex?"
"Where's your girlfriend, Sasuke?" Kakashi piped up, watching with amusement as Sasuke blushed, turning away. "I thought so."
Naruto burst into laughing, pointing and teasing his friend. When Kakashi looked up, he saw Sakura enter, looking lively and refreshed. Her hair was still slightly damp, the ends of her bubble gum pink tresses curling up slightly. She was wearing a simple yellow sundress, all traces of her injuries gone. She sidled up next to him, flashing a smile.
"I called Ino and she said she'd get everyone else to come." Waving her hand at the bartender, she leaned forward, giving the man an ample eye of cleavage. He responded right away, eyes never leaving her perky breasts.
"Can I get three porn stars?" He nodded, giving her a flirty smile.
Kakashi nearly rolled his eyes. "You're here to celebrate, take it easy."
Sakura looked down for a moment before she returned his gaze, a cheerful smile on her face. "That's what I'm doing, isn't it?"
Choosing his battles wisely, he left it at that. Downing the rest of his can of shochu, he waved for another. "You guys were good out there," he murmured, taking a drink out of the fresh can.
"I knew we could do it," she said carefully, a small dig at her sensei.
Smiling, he tousled her hair with his hand.
"I didn't say that you couldn't, Sakura."
Eyeing him up, she noticed that he'd changed. She guessed that he'd gone home for a while. He wasn't supposed to parade around in his ANBU uniform in public.
"You know that you don't have to keep the bandages on your head, right?" She giggled at him, watching him reach up to touch the forgotten piece of cloth. He scratched his head sheepishly, his eye crinkling.
She used her own hand to gently unwrap his head, leaning over the counter to drop the wrappings in the garbage can she knew would be there.
"You must come here a lot," he said, watching.
Nodding, Sakura sat down once more. "Yeah, Ino loves to drag us here. The bartender gives all the girls discounts, so that goes a long way."
Laughing, he downed the rest of his drink, already feeling the effects. Two cans of shochu, and strong shochu at that, were enough to get him tipsy.
"Kakashi! That's 40%, you know," she whispered, outraged.
"Oh, I know."
Lining her shots up, she sent him a wicked smile. In a flash, she had downed all three. Waving her arm, she called for more.
Shaking his head, Kakashi could only watch in horror. "Don't you think you should slow down a bit?"
Rolling her eyes, she sent him a glare. "I'm not a child, Kakashi. I'm not the Godaime's apprentice for no reason."
He shrugged it off. As much as he was still protective over his students, he couldn't argue with that. Sakura was a grown woman whether he liked it or not and it was fully within the realm of reason to get as sloshed as she wanted.
A large, rowdy crowd came into the bar, cheering when they caught sight of the group. The other new recruits, minus the four they didn't know, found their way to them, laughing and cheering each other on.
Ino giggled, sidling up next to Sakura. "We had some pre-drinks at my place."
Sakura laughed, her six shots having begun to take over. "You practically get free drinks here, Pig." At this, she laughed harder. "I wish you would've gotten the pig mask!" Ino scowled, but laughed after a moment.
Kakashi got up to leave, having had enough of the place. He was four cans of shochu down by now, and if he had more he was sure he would get entirely beyond control drunk.
"No, Kakashi!" Sakura grabbed his arm, a lopsided smile on her pleasantly drunk face.
His gaze fell down to where her breasts strained against the yellow sundress for a moment. He quickly looked away.
"Sakura!" Naruto crowed, grabbing her by the arm. Sakura laughed, hearing the song he was so excited about. It was collectively Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura's favourite song, and they had made a drunken pact to never not dance to it at a bar. Kakashi thought he was free, but Sakura's grip remained strong and he reluctantly followed them to the dance floor. It was less like a club song and a little bit slower than the bar's usual music, but he couldn't withhold a drunken fit of laughter at the sight of Naruto and Sasuke dancing together. Sasuke was evidently playing the lady, his hand atop Naruto's as they spun around the dancefloor.
Sakura laughed with him, grabbing his hand to place it on her waist. "C'mon, Kakashi… it's tradition!" She hiccupped, starting to lead. Resigning himself to this dance of utter embarrassment, he took over, lading her around the dancefloor. As his clan had been a relatively wealthy and established one, Kakashi had taken dance lessons for a short time as a child. He'd stopped once he graduated the academy, but he had always remembered the lessons.
Spinning Sakura around, he smiled at her. She was clearly enjoying herself immensely. In all honesty, he wasn't sure that he wasn't having fun himself. She gave him a tipsy smile as the song finished. Her eyes widening in surprise, she called out across the bar. "Hikaru-kun!" she greeted, her smile widening. Hikaru made his way towards the two, a smile lighting his features. He greeted the two of them, his eyes never leaving Sakura. She began to talk to him animatedly, effectively cutting Kakashi out. He watched the young man, sizing him up. He wondered the man's intentions and how worthy he was of his former student. He was skinny, obviously not in the peak physical condition of a field shinobi. He worked at the hospital, he knew, but he didn't know much else. He refused to admit his disappointment in ending the night.
Kakashi used this as a means to get out, downing the last sip of his can of shochu. He made his way out of the Tipsy Leaf, stumbling home in the dark. When he reached his place, he crawled into bed, knowing his hangover would be wicked the next day.
He found he couldn't sleep, however. Tossing and turning, he finally gave up. Opening the drawer in his bedside table, he retrieved the copy of Icha Icha Master, opening to the first page. He whispered an apology before he dove in, his eyes scanning each page with fervor.
"C'mon, Sakura-chan," Naruto held out his hand, dragging the girl with him and Sasuke to the door.
She protested, already well beyond her limit. Turning to Hikaru, she smiled. "Let's go for lunch tomorrow, Hikaru-kun!"
At this, he nodded. "I'd be happy to, Sakura-chan," he said with a smile. "I'll see you at the hospital at noon!"
She allowed her boys to drag her out of the pub, happy and serene. She blacked out for a moment, opening her eyes to find herself safe in bed. Letting loose a smile, her eyes fluttering shut once more.
All was good. All was well.
So, that's that! I'm so sorry for the wait. Feel free to leave a review!